Greetings, colleagues. I'm wondering if anyone can share a current purchasing cap their library has for zine acquisitions. For a long time (basically, since we started a zine collection), we've considered capping the amount we will pay for a zine, in part because I think that a $100 zine isn't really a zine, although I am sure there are legitimate arguments against that line of thinking. Some of the more expensive (in the $40 range) zines border on artists' books territory, a genre we are also actively purchasing. We have yet to set that upper limit, but we're starting to get more solicitations from artists about buying their zine work, and that is who is pitching us the higher priced zines, so I would really like to be able to give our purchasing cap as a reason, rather than me questioning whether their $100 zine is, in fact, a zine. With all good wishes, Jenny -- JENNY SWADOSH, MLS (SHE/HER) *Associate archivist* THE NEW SCHOOL The New School Archives and Special Collections (INCLUDES Kellen Design Archives) 63 Fifth Avenue, Room U703 (University center Library), New York, NY 10011 U.S.A. swadoshj@newschool.edu T 212.229.5942 *my office hours ARE 10 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. I DO NOT CHECK MY EMAIL OUTSIDE OF THOSE HOURS.* https://archives.newschool.edu/ [image: THE NEW SCHOOL] _______________________________________________ ZineLibrarians mailing list ZineLibrarians@lists.zinelibraries.info http://lists.zinelibraries.info/listinfo.cgi/zinelibrarians-zinelibraries.info

Great question, Jenny! I probably wouldn't implement an official price cap. I added "Our zines are at the lower end of the production level scale and typically cost $10 or less, with most of them in the $1-$5 range." to the Barnard Zine Library collection statement a few years ago, which can be helpful. If I ever spend more than $20 on a zine, it's always to provide support for a BIPOC or criminal justice-impacted zine maker. (n.b. Under current conditions, that non-policy policy would be seen by College Counsel as potentially discriminatory, so ymmv) Good luck out there, y'all! Jenna On Fri, Nov 21, 2025 at 8:22 PM Jenny Swadosh <swadoshj@newschool.edu> wrote: > Greetings, colleagues. > > I'm wondering if anyone can share a current purchasing cap their library > has for zine acquisitions. For a long time (basically, since we started a > zine collection), we've considered capping the amount we will pay for a > zine, in part because I think that a $100 zine isn't really a > zine, although I am sure there are legitimate arguments against that line > of thinking. Some of the more expensive (in the $40 range) zines border on > artists' books territory, a genre we are also actively purchasing. We have > yet to set that upper limit, but we're starting to get more solicitations > from artists about buying their zine work, and that is who is pitching us > the higher priced zines, so I would really like to be able to give our > purchasing cap as a reason, rather than me questioning whether their $100 > zine is, in fact, a zine. > > With all good wishes, > > Jenny > > > -- > > JENNY SWADOSH, MLS > (SHE/HER) > > *Associate archivist* > THE NEW SCHOOL > The New School Archives and Special Collections (INCLUDES Kellen Design > Archives) > > 63 Fifth Avenue, Room U703 (University center Library), New York, NY 10011 > U.S.A. > swadoshj@newschool.edu > T 212.229.5942 > > *my office hours ARE 10 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. I DO NOT CHECK > MY EMAIL OUTSIDE OF THOSE HOURS.* > > https://archives.newschool.edu/ > [image: THE NEW SCHOOL] > _______________________________________________ > ZineLibrarians mailing list > ZineLibrarians@lists.zinelibraries.info > > http://lists.zinelibraries.info/listinfo.cgi/zinelibrarians-zinelibraries.info > -- Jenna Freedman | she, her Director of the Barnard Zine Library make an appointment <https://barnard.libcal.com/appointments/jenna-freedman> | https://is.gd/jennacalendar https://linktr.ee/barnardzinelibrary Fridays are dedicated cataloging days. I will respond to messages I receive on Fridays the following week. _______________________________________________ ZineLibrarians mailing list ZineLibrarians@lists.zinelibraries.info http://lists.zinelibraries.info/listinfo.cgi/zinelibrarians-zinelibraries.info